Know Your Retirement BenefitsEast Central Railway

INDEX

Chapter Pages

Executive Summary … 1-6Pension … 7-11Qualifying Service … 12-14Death-Cum-Retirement Gratuity (DCRG) … 15-17Family Pension … 18-20Nomination … 21-22Commutation of Pension … 23-24Withholding of Pensionary Benefits … 25-27Formalities to be observed to initiate Settlement Cases … 28-31Other Benefits admissible on Retirement/Death … 32-37List of Holiday Homes over Indian Railways … 38-41List of Hospitals/Health Units of North Central Railway … 42Formulas at a glance … 43

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1. What are Retirement Benefits?

Retirement Benefits are the benefits which an employee is eligible to get on Superannuation,Voluntary Retirement, Death and Resignation from Railway service. These can be brieflysummarised as under:

(i) On Superannuation

Provident Fund (PF)Retirement GratuityCommutation of Pension (Optional)Group Insurance (GIS)Leave EncashmentComposite Transfer GrantPost Retirement Complimentary PassesRailway Employees Liberalised Health Scheme (RELHS)Gold Plated Silver Medal

(ii) On Voluntary Retirement

Provident Fund (PF)Retirement GratuityCommutation of Pension (Optional) at the rate of relevant factor applicable on next

birthdayGroup Insurance (GIS)Leave EncashmentComposite Transfer GrantPost Retirement Complimentary PassesRailway Employees Liberalised Health Scheme (RELHS)Gold Plated Silver Medal

(iii) On Resignation

Provident Fund (PF)Group Insurance (GIS)Leave Encashment - 50% of balance LAP (maximum up to 150 days)

(iv) On Death

Provident Fund (PF)Death GratuityGroup Insurance (GIS)

DLI (Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme)Leave EncashmentComposite Transfer GrantWidow PassesRailway Employees Liberalised Health Scheme (RELHS)

(v) On Removal/ Dismissal

Provident FundGroup InsuranceCompassionate Allowance/Grant (If sanctioned – to the extent of a maximum 2/3rd of

Pension/Gratuity) as decided by disciplinary authority.Note:(i)Commutation of pension in case of compulsory Retirement shall be subject to medical

examination.(ii)Post Retirement Complimentary Passes shall not be issued to those Railway Servants

who are dismissed from service or removed from service on or after 26.10.2005.(iii)Post Retirement Complimentary Passes shall not be issued to those Railway Servants

on whom penalty of cent percent cut in Pension and Gratuity has been imposed onor after 26.10.2005.

(iv)Post Retirement Complimentary Passes shall be issued to those Railway Servants whoare dismissed or removed from service on or after 26.10.05 but are grantedCompassionate Allowance in terms of Rule 65 of RS (Pension) Rules 1993.These passes shall be issued from the date of Granting of CompassionateAllowance.

2. What other facilities are available to Retired Railway Employees?

In addition to Pension/Family Pension and Post Retirement Complimentary Passes, the followingfacilities are also available:

Holiday HomesRest House (for Officers only)

3. What Documents are required to be filled for claiming Retirement Benefits?

Documents to be filled for claiming Retirement Benefits are:

Duly filled ‘A’ Booklet from the Retiring Employee.‘No Dues certificate’ of Laptop from IT Department.No Dues certificate from S&T Department regarding submission of Mobile Phone/ CUG Sim.

4. What are the different formulas for calculation of Retirement Benefits?

Formulas for calculation are:

(i) Qualifying Service

20 years.

(ii) Pension:

(a) Linkage of full pension with 33 years qualifying services shall be dispensed with. Oncea Railway Servant has rendered the minimum qualifying service of 20 years, pensionshall be 50% of the last emoluments or average emolument received during the last10 months whichever is beneficial to him.

(b) After completion of 10 years service, 50% of last Pay is admissible as Pension.

(iii) Death Cum Retirement Gratuity (DCRG):

DCRG will be given on the basis of completed qualifying service upto 33 years. For this ¼of wage for each completed 06 monthly periods, up to maximum 33 years (66 six monthlyperiods) service subject to ceiling of `10,00,000/-. In case of death, the amount will beenhanced as shown in subsequent pages.

(iv) Family Pension:30% of last Basic Pay + DR (Dearness Relief) subject to minimum of `3500/- + DR.In case of death, 50% of last pay drawn or twice the normal family pension + DRwhichever is less for ten years.

(vi) Commutation

40% of pension (optional).

(vii) Leave Encashment

Leave will be encashed upto maximum of 300 LAP. In case, LAP is less than 300 days,then LHAP will be encashed up to that limit by which LAP is lesser than 300 days.

5. What are the documentary requirements for ensuring timely payment of settlement dues?List out.

The check list of documents is:

Personal File and Service Record duly completed in all respects

Verification of Leave Records for last three years

‘No Dues Certificate’ duly vetted by finance

Service History (Qualifying Service) duly vetted by finance

D&AR/Vigilance clearance for final settlement dues issued within one month prior to retirement

Pension Booklet duly filled

10 month’s average Pay or Last Pay Drawn (calculated by Bill Section)

National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) Form with IFSC code of the Bank

Bank Pass Book (photocopy)

Photographs 9 + 2 booklet (individual) and one joint Photograph with spouse, size 2” x 3”

4 Photographs of spouse and each dependent (passport size) for issuance of Medical-cum-Pass Identity Card

Death Certificate (in case of death).Birth Certificate of spouse and children who are eligible for Family Pension.

6. Clearances to be obtained?

Every Government servant who is going to retire should ensure that ‘No Dues Certificate’regarding Railway Quarter Rent, Electric Charge, Lawn Charge, Laptop and Telephone Billincluding CUG should be obtained in time. The DCRG may be withheld due to non-clearance ofdues mentioned above.

7. Period within which Settlement Dues are to be paid to Railway Servants?

Railway Board’s letter No. F(E)III/2005/PN-1/2 dated 25.01.2005 emphasizes that in case ofsuperannuation Settlement Dues of Railway Servants should be paid on the date of retirementitself and to the family of those who die while in service as early as possible in order that theretiring person and the family of the deceased Railway Servant are not put to hardships.

PENSION

1. What is Pension?

Pension is a lifelong Retirement Benefit, paid monthly to a Railway Servant on retirement fromservice.

The pension scheme was introduced in 1957 was, however, made compulsory for all theemployees appointed on and after 16.11.1957 in Railway Service.

2. Who are eligible for pension?

(a) All those Railway Employees, who were appointed on or after 16.11.1957 (up to31.12.2003) are compulsorily governed by Pension Scheme.

(b) The employees who were in service on 1st April, 1957 or were appointed during the periodfrom 1st April, 1957 to 15th November, 1957 were required to exercise an option to elect forPension Scheme by 31.03.1958. These options were subsequently extended from time totime.

3. What are the different kinds of Pension?

Pensions are divided into the following four classes:

(i) Compensation Pension

Compensation Pension means the pension granted to a Railway Servant who isdischarged from Railway service due to abolition of a permanent post.

(ii) Invalid Pension

Invalid Pension means the Pension granted to a Railway Servant who retires from serviceon suffering from contagious disease or a physical disability, which affects the efficientdischarge of his duties.

(iii) Superannuation PensionSuperannuation Pension means the Pension granted to a Railway Servant who retires onattaining the age of 60 years.

4. What are Basic Conditions for Earning Pension?Entitlement to pension commences on completion of 10 years qualifying service. A RailwayServant, who has completed less than 10 years’ qualifying service, is entitled to a service gratuityonly.

5. What is the New Pension Scheme?

The Government of India has introduced a New Pension Scheme (Defined Contributory PensionSystem) replacing the existing system of Defined Benefit Pension System. The New Scheme isapplicable to new entrants to Government service w.e.f. 01.01.2004. Under Tier-I of the system,

Government servants shall compulsorily make a contribution at the rate of 10% of salary and amatching contribution will be made by the Government.

Tier-II is a withdrawable and Non-Pensionable Account and will have the system of Voluntarycontribution. The contributions will be kept in a separate account and will be withdrawable at theoption of the Government servant. Government will not make any contribution to Tier-II Account.This is not operative at present.

6. What is the formula for determining the Amount of Pension?

With effect from 01.01.2006, Pension is calculated as 50% of 10 months Average Emoluments or50% of Last Pay Drawn whichever is beneficial to the employee subject to a minimum of `3500/-per month.

Note: If the amount of pension contains a fraction of a Rupee, the amount will be rounded off tothe next higher rupee.

7. What are Average Emoluments?

(i) The terms “Average Emoluments” is determined with reference to Basic Pay drawn by aRailway Servant during the last ten months of his service.

(ii) If during the last 10 months of service, a Railway Servant is absent from duty or on extraordinary leave (without leave salary) or has been under suspension, the aforesaid periodof leave or suspension is disregarded in the calculation of the average emoluments andan equal period prior to ten months is considered.

8. What is the additional quantum of Pension available to benefit old aged Pensioners?

The quantum of pension available to old aged Pensioners shall be increased as under:

Age of Pensioner Additional Quantum of Pension

From 80 years to less than 85 years 20% of revised Basic Pension

From 85 years to less than 90 years 30% of revised Basic Pension

From 90 years to less than 95 years 40% of revised Basic Pension

From 95 years to less than 100 years 50% of revised Basic Pension

100 years or more 100% of revised Basic Pension

9. What is the Pension Benefit admissible to different types of Railway Employees?

The Pension Benefits granted to Railway Employees, in different cases are:

(i) Permanent Railway Employees(a)Qualifying service of less than 10 years

No pension but service gratuity shall be paid at a uniform rate of half monthsemoluments for every completed six monthly period of qualifying service.

(b)Qualifying service of 10 years or more shall entitle an employee to get pension subjectto a minimum of `3500/- per month.

(ii) Temporary Railway Employees(a)Temporary employees retiring at the age of superannuation or on being declared

permanently incapacitated for further service by the appropriate medical authorityafter rendering service of not less than 10 years will be paid Retirement Benefits atthe same scale as is paid to the permanent employees.

(b)A temporary employee’s family, who dies in harness, will be allowed the same deathbenefits as are admissible to the family of permanent employees.

(iv) Employees who are removed or dismissed from Railway Service

No pensionary benefits are granted to Railway Servant on whom the penalty of removal ordismissal from service is imposed. However, in case of a Railway Servant so removed ordismissed, the authority who removed or dismissed him from service may award‘Compassionate grant’ corresponding to ordinary gratuity and/or DCRG and/or allowancescorresponding to ordinary pension, when he is deserving on special consideration,provided that the compassionate grant and/or allowances awarded to such employee shallnot exceed two thirds of a pensionary benefits which would have been admissible to him ifhe had retired on medical grounds.

10. Through which authorities/offices can Pension be drawn?

Pension can be drawn through Post Offices, Treasuries or Nationalised Banks.

11. What are the conditions for disbursement of Pension?

Disbursement of Pension depends on furnishing of a non-employment or an employment/ re-employment certificate by Pensioner once in a year in the month of November each year in theprescribed form to the Pension Disbursing Authority. Similarly, besides non-employmentcertificate, a ‘Life Certificate’ duly signed by a Gazetted Officer or by some other well known andtrustworthy person is also required to be furnished. Until the said certificates are furnished,Pension for the subsequent months will not be disbursed.

QUALIFYING SERVICE

1. What is qualifying service?

Qualifying service is the number of completed six monthly periods of service which is taken intoaccount for determining the amount of pensionary benefits.

Broadly, all periods spent on duty (including Foreign Service for which contribution is paid to theGovernment) or on leave including leave on medical certificate are allowed to be counted forpension. The competent authority has discretion to allow extra ordinary leave to count for pension

The service and periods rendered in the following capacity are termed as ‘Qualifying Service’ andqualifying for pensionary benefits:

(i) Continuous service on Indian (Government) Railways.(ii) Continuous service rendered on ex-company/ex-State Railway, taken over by the

Government and followed by service in Indian (Government) Railways.(iii) Military/War Service rendered before joining the Railways in terms of Rule 22, 34 & 35 of

Railway Service (Pension) Rules, 1993.

(iv) Service rendered under Central or State Government before transfer to Railways.

(iv) Period of training followed by absorption against regular post.(v) Deputation period out of India on duty.(vi) Authorised ‘Joining Time’.(vii) Foreign Service rendered by a Railway Servant shall count as qualifying service provided

that contribution towards cost of pensionary benefits of the Railway Servant, has beenpaid either by the foreign employer or a Railway Servant himself, in respect of entireperiod of Foreign Service.

(ix) All periods of leave with leave salary taken up to the date of superannuation.

(x) Extra-ordinary Leave (EOL)

(a)Extra-ordinary Leave taken on medical grounds

(b)If taken to join or re-join duty due to Civil Commotion or Natural Calamity, if he has noother type of leave.

(c)For higher scientific and technical studies.

(xi) Period spent on suspension

Time passed under suspension pending inquiry into conduct, counts in full if on conclusionof enquiry, the Railway Servant has been fully exonerated or the suspension is held tohave been unjustified. In other cases the period of suspension will only count if theauthority who reinstated him in service expressly declared to count towards pensionarybenefits.

(xii) Service rendered in casual capacity

Half of service rendered in casual capacity after attaining temporary status will count forpensionary benefits on absorption against a regular post.

For calculation of the length of qualifying service, a fraction of a year equal to 3 months or moreshall be treated as completed one half year period.

2. What is the formula for calculating Qualifying Service?

(i) The fraction of a year in the qualifying service shall be reckoned in the following manner:

Fraction of a yearNumber of completed

Six-monthly periods (half year)

Less than 3 months NIL3 months and above and less than9 months

01 (one)

9 months and above 02 (two)(ii) Qualifying service of 9 years and 9 months and above (up to 10 years) at the time of

retirement shall be treated as ten years of service.(iii) After completion of minimum 20 years of qualifying service voluntary retirement can be

taken.(iv) Where the authority reinstating the Railway Servant had not passed orders as to the

treatment of period of suspension for the purpose of Qualifying Service for pensionarybenefits, the period of suspension shall only be counted if it had been treated as duty orleave due as the case may be.

DEATH-CUM-RETIREMENT GRATUITY (DCRG)

1. What is DCRG?

Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity (DCRG) is a lump sum payment to the employee on hisretirement or to his family in the event of his death or superannuation depending on the case.

2. What is Retirement Gratuity?(i) It is a lump sum payment to the employee on his retirement.

(ii) A Railway Servant who has completed five years qualifying service is granted retirementgratuity equal to 1/4th of his salary for each completed six monthly period of qualifyingservice subject to a maximum of 16 ½ times the emoluments, provided that the amount ofretirement gratuity payable shall, in no case exceed Rupees Ten Lacs .

3. What is Death Gratuity?(i) It is lump sum payment to the family of a Railway Servant in the event of his death while

in service.(ii) In the event of death of an employee during service, the Death Gratuity shall be

admissible at the following rates:Length of Service Rate of Gratuity

(a)Less than 1 year : 2 times of salary(b)One year or more but

less than 5 years: 6 times of salary

(c) 5 years or more but lessthan 20 years

: 12 times of salary

(d)20 years or more : Half of salary for every completed sixmonthly period of qualifying service subjectto a maximum of 33 times of salaryprovided that the amount of death gratuityshall, in no case, exceed Ten Lacs.

4. Death Gratuity is payable to whom?

The Railway Servant shall make a nomination conferring on one or more persons the right toreceive DCRG provided that if, at the time of making nomination, he has a family, the nominationshall not be in favour of any person other than the family members.

For the purpose of DCRG, the ‘Family’ includes the following relatives of the Railway Servant:

(i)Wife/Husband(ii)Sons

(iii)Un-married and widowed Daughters(iv)Father(v)Mother(vi)Brothers below the age of 18 years and un-married or widowed sisters(vii)Children of a pre-deceased son.

In absence of any nomination, the Death Gratuity is paid in order of preference as mentionedabove against the term family.

In case, the payment of DCRG is arranged late and the delay is attributed to administrative lapse,interest as per extant rate of interest on PF shall be payable for the period beyond 3 months afterit became due. The powers to grant interest rest with General Manager.

5. What can be deducted from DCRG?

(i) Any dues, if found outstanding, will be recovered from DCRG of the retired official. If theycould not be recovered at the time of retirement then they can be recovered from theDearness Relief of the retiree’s pension, without the consent of the pensioner. (Rule 16(6)of Railway Services (Pension) Rules 1993).

(ii) If the Railway Employee is in occupation of Railway Quarter, vacation of the RailwayQuarter and proof of handing over to Engineering Department and clearance ofrecoverable Water charges, Lawn Charges and Electric Charges etc. is necessary beforepayment of gratuity.

FAMILY PENSION

1. What is Family Pension and when it was introduced?

(i) It is a social security benefit paid monthly to the surviving widow/widower or eligible childof a Railway Servant irrespective of whether death occurs during service or afterretirement. The benefit has also now been extended to post-retiral spouse.

(ii) Family Pension Scheme on Railways was introduced from 01.01.1964 in terms of RailwayBoard’s letter No. F(P)63/PNL/40 dated 02.01.1964 and is applicable to both permanentand temporary employees. The employees who entered service on or after 01.01.1964 arecompulsorily governed by these rules. However, the employees who were appointed priorto 01.01.1964 were given an option to elect this scheme.

2. What is the basis of determination?

The amount of Family Pension is determined on the basis of last emolument drawn at the time ofdeath or retirement, without any reference to the number of years of service rendered by thedeceased employee. Family Pension is calculated at 30% of the emoluments, subject to aminimum of `3500/- per month, and a maximum of `27000/- per month.

3. What is the minimum qualifying service for Family Pension?

Family Pension is admissible after completion of one year of continuous service. However, beforecompletion of one year service, Family Pension will be admissible if the deceased RailwayServant, immediately prior to the appointment to the service or post, was examined by theappropriate medical authority and declared fit for the Government service.

4. When the Family Pension at enhanced rates is applicable?(i) For a period of 10 years following the date of death, the family pension will be payable at

enhanced rates.(ii) The enhanced family pension shall be equal to 50% of the emoluments last drawn by the

Railway Servant or twice the family pension admissible at the normal rates, or the originalpension sanctioned, whichever is less.

5. What is the additional quantum of Family Pension available to benefit old FamilyPensioners? The quantum of Family Pension available to old Family Pensioners shall be increasedas under:

Age of Family Pensioner Additional Quantum of Family PensionFrom 80 years to less than 85 years 20% of revised Basic Family PensionFrom 85 years to less than 90 years 30% of revised Basic Family PensionFrom 90 years to less than 95 years 40% of revised Basic Family PensionFrom 95 years to less than 100 years 50% of revised Basic Family Pension100 years or more 100% of revised Basic Family Pension

6. Who are included as ‘Family’ for the purpose of Family Pension?The term ‘Family’ for the purpose of Family Pension includes:(i) Wife in case of male Railway Servant(ii) Husband in case of female Railway Servant(iii) Sons up to age of 25 year (in case of physically crippled or mentally disabled son there is

no age bar).(iv) Unmarried daughters.(iv) Divorced/Widow daughters.(v) Parents (mother and then father) wholly dependent.(vii) The criteria of dependency is earning less than `3500/- and applicable in item (iii) to (vi)

above.

7. How Pensionary benefits are granted to the family of persons missing or whosewhereabouts are not known?

A person who has disappeared or whose whereabouts are not known, is deemed to be dead after7 years of the date of his disappearance and as such the family of the employee concerned hasto wait for 7 years for the grant of settlement dues. To mitigate the hardship, the followingbenefits are granted to the family:

(i) In the first instance, the family after disappearance of the employee, will be paid theamount of salary due, leave encashment due and Provident Fund.

(ii) Subsequently after the elapse of a period of one year after lodging FIR in Police Station,other benefits like DCRG and Family Pension may also be granted to the family.

(iii) However, the Deposit Linked Insurance will not be payable in such cases.

(iv) Before granting the above benefits, final report after one year of lodging FIR should besubmitted and it should be ensured that the missing person is not a member of anyterrorist organization.

(iv) The payment of GIS will be made after seven years after date of missing.

These orders are also applied to missing pensioners.

NOMINATION

1. What is the process for nomination for the purpose of payment of Provident Fund?The Supervisor/Accounts Officer shall as soon as the account is opened, invite every subscriberto make a nomination conferring the right to receive the whole or part of the amount that maystand to his credit in the event of his death.(i)A subscriber shall, at the time of joining the fund, make a nomination and send it to the

Accounts officer, if a Gazetted Railway Servant; otherwise to his immediate supervisor.(ii)A subscriber may in his nomination distribute the amount that may stand to his credit in the

fund amongst his nominees at his own discretion.(iii)A subscriber may provide in a nomination in respect of any specified nominee that in the event

of his pre-deceasing, the subscriber, the right conferred upon that nominee shall pass tosuch other persons as may be specified in the nomination. The nomination shall becomeinvalid in the event of happening of a contingency specified therein.

(iv)The nomination made by a Railway Servant who has no family at the time of making it, shallbecome invalid in the event of the Railway Servant subsequently acquiring a family. If, atthe time of making nomination, the Railway Servant has a family, the nomination shall notbe in favour of any other person, other than the members of his family.

2. Why is nomination necessary?

(i) It is in the interest of the Railway Employee himself to make timely nomination to avoiddelay in the payment of settlement dues to his family in case of his/her unfortunate deathwhile in service.

(ii) There is now a single nomination form for the purpose of Provident Fund, Death Gratuityand Group Insurance Scheme.

3. Whether nomination can be made for the purpose of Family Pension?

No nomination is required for the purpose of Family Pension under the ‘Family Pension Scheme1964’ under which the Family Pension is payable first to Widow/Widower and then to children asper age.

COMMUTATION OF PENSION

1. What is the process for Commutation of Pension?A Railway Servant who is due to retire and desires payment of commuted value of pension beingauthorized at the time of issue of PPO itself, may apply for commutation of pension along withpension papers prior to the date of retirement. Commutation will, however, not be allowed if theemployee dies before retirement. Now Commutation Form is also annexed with Pension Forms.

2. What are the facts regarding admissibility of Commutation of Pension?Some facts are:(i)Commutation of only ordinary Pension (viz. Compensation, Invalid, Superannuation and

Retiring Pension) is admissible.(ii)Compassionate Grant/Allowances granted to a person who is removed or dismissed shall also

be treated as Pension for the purpose of commutation.(iii)The maximum amount of pension granted may be commuted to the extent of 40% at the

discretion of the employee.(iv)The lump sum payable on commutation shall be calculated in accordance with the Table

prescribed for the purpose from time to time.(v)An employee shall not be subjected to medical examination, if he applies for commutation

within one year of his retirement or superannuation.(vi)A Railway Servant against whom a judicial or departmental proceeding has been instituted

shall not be permitted to commute any portion during the pendency of such proceedings. Hewill be eligible for Pension on conclusion of such enquiry and thus be entitled forcommutation without medical examination and the period of one year for applying forcommutation in this case will be from the date of orders issued on the conclusion ofproceedings.

(vii)If the pensioner dies on or after the day on which commutation become absolute(commutation becomes absolute on the date following the retirement) but before receivingthe commutation value, this value shall be paid to his heirs.

(viii)The Commutation of Pension shall be valid for 10 years. If, however, the pensioner is alivefor more than 15 years, the commuted portion of pension of pensioner will be restored after15 years.

(ix)Pursuant to the judgement of Supreme Court delivered on 09.12.1986, Pensioners who havecommuted their pension are entitled to have the commuted portion restored irrespective oftheir date of retirement, provided they have completed or will complete 15 years ofretirement on or after 01.04.1985 i.e. the date from which restoration has been allowed. Incase where period of 15 years has already been over before 01.04.1985, the restoration willbe permissible from 01.04.1985 only.

3. What is the Commutation Value for Pension?Presently the Commutation Value for a Pension of `1 per annum is done as per CommutationTable given below:

Agenext

birthday

Commutationvalue expressed

as number ofyear’s purchase

Agenext

birthday

Commutationvalue expressed

as number ofyear’s purchase

Agenext

birthday

Commutationvalue expressed

as number ofyear’s purchase

20 9.188 41 9.075 62 8.09321 9.187 42 9.059 63 7.98222 9.186 43 9.040 64 7.86223 9.185 44 9.019 65 7.73124 9.184 45 8.996 66 7.59125 9.183 46 8.971 67 7.43126 9.182 47 8.943 68 7.26227 9.180 48 8.913 69 7.08328 9.178 49 8.881 70 6.89729 9.176 50 8.846 71 6.76330 9.173 51 8.808 72 6.56231 9.169 52 8.768 73 6.29632 9.164 53 8.724 74 6.08533 9.159 54 8.678 75 5.87234 9.152 55 8.627 76 5.65735 9.145 56 8.572 77 5.44336 9.136 57 8.512 78 5.22937 9.126 58 8.446 79 5.01838 9.116 59 8.371 80 4.81239 9.103 60 8.287 81 4.61140 9.090 61 8.194

WITHHOLDING OF PENSIONARY BENEFITS

1. Why Pensionary Benefits are withheld?

Earlier, for the grant of full pensionary benefits, service being ‘thoroughly satisfactory’ was thepre-condition. However, as a result of deletion of this provision, DCRG/Pension cannot ordinarilybe withheld now. Withholding of Pension can be done with the sanction of the President, whoreserves to himself, for withholding or withdrawing a Pension or DCRG or both; whetherpermanently or for a specified period, if in a departmental or judicial proceeding the RailwayServant is found guilty of grave misconduct or negligence, during the period of service, subject tothe fulfillment of the following conditions:

(i) Such departmental proceedings, if instituted while the Railway Servant was in servicebefore his retirement shall, after the final retirement, be deemed to be proceedings andshall be continued and concluded in the same manner as if the Railway Servant hadcontinued in service.

(ii) Such proceedings, if not instituted while the Railway Servant was in service beforeretirement:(a)Shall not be instituted, save with the sanction of the President.(b)Shall not be in respect of any event which took place more than 4 years before such

institution.(iii) No such judicial proceedings, if not instituted while the Railway Servant was in service

before his retirement, shall be instituted in respect of a cause of action which arose or anevent which took place more than 4 years before such institution.

2. In which cases Government dues can be recovered from pensionary benefits?A claim against a Railway Servant may be on account of one or the other of the following:(i)Losses (including short collection in freight charges, shortage in Stores) caused to the

Government, as a result of negligence or fraud on the part of the Railway Servant while hewas in service.

(ii)Other Government dues such as overpayment on account of pay and allowances or admittedand obvious dues such as house rent, Post Office, Life Insurance premium, outstandingadvances etc.

Recovery in respect of items (i) and (ii) above can be made from DCRG whereas the dues asmentioned in item (c) above, such as amount payable by a Railway Servant to Consumer Co-operative Society/Consumer Credit Society or the dues payable to autonomous organizations bya Railway Servant, may be recovered from the DCRG provided he gives his consent for doing soin writing to the administration.

If all the above mentioned government dues cannot be recovered from DCRG, then they can berecovered from the Dearness Relief on the Pension, as per Rule 16 (4) of Railway ServantPension Manual.

Efforts should be made to assess and adjust the recoverable dues before the superannuation ofthe employee. In any case, it would be presumed that there is no claim against the RailwayServant if none is made after his retirement, within the period indicated below:

(i)15 months, if commercial debits are involved.

(ii)6 months, if commercial debits are not involved.

To reduce the above mentioned limit, the Board have issued various instructions from time totime.

3. Which pensionary benefits are withheld on retention/unauthorized retention of Railwayaccommodation?

In respect of recovery on account of rent for Railway accommodation, it is in the own interest ofthe employee to vacate the Railway accommodation immediately after retirement or within thepermissible period, in order to get early payment of DCRG. To discourage the unauthorizedretention of Railway accommodation, it has been decided to take the following steps:

(i)‘No Claim Certificate’ should not be issued unless the employee after retirement has vacatedthe Railway quarter and cleared all his arrears of rent, lawn, water, electricity and othercharges etc.

(ii)DCRG will be withheld in full and will not be released till the Railway Accommodation isvacated and all the arrears of rent are finally adjusted.

(iii)For every month of unauthorized retention of Railway quarters, one set of post retirementpasses should be disallowed by giving a show-cause notice before disallowing the pass.

FORMALITIES TO BE OBSERVED TO INITIATESETTLEMENT CASES

1. What formalities are observed for initiating settlement cases?

The mandatory requirement of the Pension Rules is that the payment of pension and Gratuityshould in all cases commence on the first day of the month in which they are due. The RailwayAdministration is, therefore, solely responsible to ensure the compliance with this mandatoryprovision. For this purpose, Head of Office and others responsible or connected with processingof Pension cases, are required to observe a set time schedule, for the various processes. Thepreliminary and preparatory work should, therefore, be commenced sufficiently in advance andadequate time allowed for the various stages and processes of work. For this purpose a TimeSchedule containing firm cut-off dates has been prescribed for each stage, such that when a cut-off date is reached, the work then necessarily proceeds to the next stage.

2. What action is required to be observed to initiate ‘Normal Retirement Settlement’ cases?

Normal Retirement Settlement cases are initiated in three stages:

First Stage

(i)As per rule 76 of Railway Service (Pension) Rules, 1993, in every six months, i.e. on 1st

January and 1st July each year, a list of all Railway Servants who are due to retire withinthe next twenty four to thirty months of that date will be published.

(ii)The administration will initiate the pension case two years before the date of retirement of aRailway Servant. At this stage, the work will be essentially that of scrutiny of ServiceRecord/ Leave Account and to get them completed in all respects, with a view toassessing total qualifying service and at a later date, the calculation of averageemoluments. This process should be completed in good time and at any rate not later than8 months in advance of the date of retirement of the employee concerned.

(iii)Rectifying any deficiencies, imperfections of omission in Service Record.

(iv)Recording of certificate of verification of Service in the Service Record.

Second Stage

(i)At this stage, the process of determining the emoluments should be initiated and completed.The qualifying service should be determined on the basis of entries in the Service Record.

(ii)The average emoluments should be determined with reference to the emoluments drawnduring the last 10 months. The work involves not merely an arithmetical calculation butalso a check of the correctness of emoluments, correctness of emoluments on the firstdate of the ten months period depends on the correctness of emoluments prior to this datefor which a check of correctness should be carried out.

(iii)The process of determining the qualifying service and the average emoluments and theadmissible pension and Gratuity should be positively completed with in a period of twomonths and the pension papers sent to Accounts for issuing PPO.

Third Stage

The Accounts Office on receipt of the pension papers will scrutinize the papers and afternecessary scrutiny will issue Pension Payment Order (PPO) including the order for the Paymentof the DCRG not later than one month in advance of date of retirement.

To observe and complete the necessary formalities to process the settlement cases at variousstages, the time schedule is as under:

SN Various StagesTime by which work is to

be completed beforeretirement

1 Preparation and publication of list of staff retiringin next two years

1 year

2 Service Record and Leave Account to becompleted by the concerned Section

6 months

3 Check of Leave Account by leave Inspector orS&WI or nominated Superintendent of Section

5 months

4 Getting verification of Service Record and LeaveAccount completed from Accounts

4 months

5 Time by which Service Record and LeaveAccount should go to Settlement Section afterAccount’s verification

4 months

6 To get settlement forms filled from concernedstaff

4 months

7 Getting ‘No Demand Certificate’ 3 months

8 Sending settlement papers to Accounts Latest 2 months

9 Time by which PF/PPO to be passed and issuedby Accounts

Not later 1 one month inadvance

10 Encashment of leave papers completed and billssent to Accounts

20 days

11 Time by which leave encashment, commutationand other settlement dues to be passed andpayment arranged

Last working day ofretirement

3. What action is required to be observed to initiate ‘Other than Normal RetirementSettlement’ cases?

‘Other than Normal Retirement’ cases pertain to death cases wherein special attention is paid toensure quick payment to the bereaved family. To facilitate swift action, the following guidelinesare laid down:

(i) When an employee dies, while in service, the concerned supervisory official shouldimmediately report the matter to Sr.DPO/DPO and the Sectional Staff & Welfare Inspector.

(ii) The Sectional Staff &Welfare Inspector should immediately contact the family members ofthe deceased employee and provide every possible assistance in obtaining DeathCertificate, filling up of settlement forms and submit them to the Settlement Section.

(iii) The Staff & Welfare Inspector should also obtain necessary application forms foremployment on Compassionate Ground, duly completed in all respects and submit thesame in the office along with his Enquiry Report.

(iv) Immediately on receipt of death information, Sr.DPO/DPO should instruct the SettlementSection staff to enter the name of the deceased in the Register maintained for the purposeand also to give information to the Accounts so that they can bring the PF Account withinterest up to date.

(iv) As the family of the deceased employee is suddenly deprived of the steady monthlyincome, the Insurance payment should be arranged immediately, as calculation for thesame is very simple. In the meanwhile, Service Record, Leave Account etc. should becompleted. Similarly, the Accounts Officer to whom the death intimation had already beengiven, should calculate the PF amount due, interest due etc. and keep the amount readyfor payment.

(v) As soon as all the settlement forms are duly filled and submitted by the widow/familymembers of the deceased employee, payment of necessary settlement dues should bearranged.

OTHER BENEFITS ADMISSIBLE ONRETIREMENT/DEATH

1. What are the other benefits admissible on Retirement/Death?

Other benefits admissible on Retirement/Death are:

(i)Leave Encashment

(ii)Composite Transfer Grant

(iii)Group Insurance

(iv)Deposit Linked Insurance

(v)Medical Facilities under RELHS

(vi)Post Retirement Complementary Passes

2. What is Leave Encashment?

The lump sum amount paid to a Railway Employee on Retirement/Voluntary Retirement or onDeath, pertaining to leave (LAP) to his credit, subject to a maximum of 300 days Leave onAverage Pay (LAP). It is calculated on the last Pay drawn and the Dearness Allowanceadmissible on the last pay.

3. What is Composite Transfer Grant?

In the event of retirement the Railway Employee and in case of death, his family members areeligible for Composite Transfer Grant, RetirementPasses and KitPasses, to carry the belongingsto their new place of residence, after retirement/death.

4. What is Group Insurance?

The ‘Group Insurance Scheme, 1980’ which came into existence w.e.f. 01.01.1982, provides forthe Railway Employee on a wholly contributory and self financing basis, the twin benefits of anInsurance cover to help their families in the event of death during service and a lump sumpayment to augment their resources on retirement.

The subscription is partly credited to an ‘Insurance Fund’ (70%) and partly to ‘Saving Fund’(30%). From Insurance Fund, payment is made for insurance cover in case of death while portionof subscription credited to this fund with interest thereon is paid to the employee on retirement orto the family, if he dies while in service.

Scale of Insurance Amount

Group ofemployee

Amount of Insurance payable in theevent of death in service

Rate ofSubscription

‘A’ 120000/- 120/-

‘B’ 60000/- 60/-

‘C’ 30000/- 30/-

‘D’ 15000/- 15/-

Nomination

Every Railway Employee, who is a member of this scheme, shall exercise a nomination in favourof a member of his family. In case of an employee who has no family, the payment will be madeto the person who had been nominated for this purpose by the Railway Servant. If no nominationis made by an employee who has no family, the amount will be paid to the person who producesSuccession Certificate.

5. What is Deposit Linked Insurance?

To provide extra social security to the families of the subscribers to SRPF and a positive incentiveto Railway Employees who save more, a ‘Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme’ had beenintroduced w.e.f. 08.01.1975, which provides insurance cover without payment of premium. Asper Railway Services (Revised Pay) Rules 2008, under this scheme, an additional amount equalto the amount standing at the credit of the Provident Fund Account of the deceased RailwayEmployee, provided during the last three years preceding the death, he had the followingminimum qualifying balance in his Provident Fund Account:

Subscriber holding a post in Scale

(Pay Band and Grade Pay)

Minimum balance inPF Account in last 36

months

(i) Pay Band 2 (9300-34800) or above and drawing Grade Pay 4800/- ormore

25000/-

(ii) Pay Band 2 (`9300-34800) and Grade Pay 4200/- or more but lessthan 4800/-

15000/-

(iii) Pay Band 2 (`9300-34800) or Pay Band 1 (5200-20100) or Pay Band1S (4440-7440) and Grade Pay 1400/- or more but less than `4200/-

10000/-

(iv) Pay Band 1S (4440-7440) and Grade Pay 1300/- or more but lessthan 1400/-

6000/-

The minimum balance available in Provident Fund Account during the last 36 months will be paidto heir of the deceased employee subject to ceiling limit of `60000/-.

6. What are the Medical Facilities available to Retired Employees?

Medical Facilities available to Retired Railway Employees are covered under RELHS-97 (RetiredEmployees Liberalised Health Scheme 97). They will be provided with full medical facilities (bothindoor and outdoor) for Self, Family Members and Dependent Relatives, as admissible to servingemployees in respect of Medical Treatment, Investigations, Diet and Reimbursement of Claimsfor treatment in Government or recognised non-Railway Hospitals."Family Members" and “Dependent Relatives” for purposes of these rules will include all suchpersons as are eligible under Pass Rules.They will also be eligible inter-alia, for(i) Ambulance services(ii) Medical passes(iii) Home visits(iv) Medical attendance for first two pregnancies of married daughters at concessional rates

(For this, special identification cards will be issued duly affixing photographs of marrieddaughters with clear instructions on the card which shall read "ONLY FORCONFINEMENTAND TREATMENT DURING ANTE-NATAL AND POST NATAL PERIODS FOR THE FIRSTTWO PREGNANCIES AT CONCESSIONAL RATES").

(v) Treatment of private servants as applicable to serving railway employees.Those who join the RELHS-97 shall hold Identity Cards with photographs of all the beneficiaries.The widow on the death of the Pensioner is entitled to medical treatment.

7. What is the Qualifying Service for joining RELHS 1997?

The Qualifying Service for joining RELHS is 20 years. However, family members of RailwayServant who died in harness rendering less than 20 years Qualifying Service at the time of deathare also eligible for joining RELHS.

These are not applicable to those Railway servants who quit service by resignation. However, theresignation tendered by Railway employees on permanent absorption in PSUs/AutonomousBodies are entitled to enrol themselves under RELHS subject to fulfilment of the prescribedconditions as their resignation is treated as “technical resignation”.

8. What is the mode of joining RELHS?

For joining RELHS, Employees with minimum 20 years of qualifying service in Railways can givetheir option at least 3 months prior to their date of retirement and by making one time contributionequal to the last month’s basic pay at the time of retirement. Option given once will be treated asfinal.Joining of RELHS-07 is MANDATORY for all retiring Railway employees. In case the retiringofficer/staff is unwilling to join the scheme, he/she will have to submit his/her unwillingness inwriting with a clear understanding that no further chance shall be given to join the scheme infuture.

9. What is Fixed Medical Allowance?

Railway Pensioners/Family Pensioners, whether they are members of RELHS or not, who residebeyond 2.5 KMs from Railway Hospitals/Health Units, are entitled for Fixed Medical Allowance.Fixed Medical Allowance has been enhanced from `100 to `300/- per month w.e.f. 01.09.2008.

10. What is Constant Attendant Allowance?

Pensioners who retired on disability pension under the Railway Services (Extraordinary Pension)Rules, 1993 for 100% disability (where the individual is completely dependent on somebody elsefor day to day functions), are entitled for Constant Attendant Allowance of `3000/- per month inaddition to the Disability Pension w.e.f. 01.01.2006, on the lines existing in Defence Forces. Thepensioners who retired on disability pension before 01.01.2006 and fulfilling the conditions arealso entitled to Constant Attendant Allowance. No Dearness Relief is admissible on ConstantAttendant Allowance.

11. What is Relief on Pension?

All pensioners are eligible to relief on their pension to compensate the rise in the cost of livingindex at certain percentage notified by the Railway Ministry from time to time. This is generallythe same as the rate of Dearness Allowance.

12. What are Post Retirement Complementary Passes?

(i) On Retirement

On Retirement, Post Retirement Complementary Passes are admissible as under:

Group No. of Passes admissible

‘A’ & ‘B’ i-Three sets of Passes when service is 25 years or more

ii-Two sets of Passes when service is over 20 years but less than 25 years

‘C’ i-Two sets of Passes when service is 25 years or more

ii-One set of Pass when service is over 20 years but less than 25 years

‘D’ One set of pass when service is 20 years or more

Note: Five sets of ComplimentaryPass shall be given to CRB & Member of the RailwayBoard instead of three set of Pass (RB-85/2009).

(ii) On death

The widow/widower of the deceased Group ‘A’, ‘B’ & ‘C’ employee who was in service ason 12.03.1987 is eligible for half the number of Supplementary Passes as admissible tothe deceased employee for self and dependent children, provided the deceased employeehad not opted out of the scheme. For Group ‘D’ employee, one set for alternate year forself only is permissible if the limitation is below this limit.

FORMULAS FOR CALCULATING SETTLEMENT DUES

Formulas for calculating settlement dues are given below. For convenience, an illustration is also given.In case of an employee serving in Pay Band-2 Scale `9300-34800 in Grade Pay `4200 who was drawingLast Pay `20000/- retires on superannuation after completing 33 years of qualifying service. 40%commutation of Pension opted.

Item Formula IllustrationPension

(Minimum `3500/-)

= 50% of LP + DR = 50% of 20000

= `10000/- + DRFamily pension (FP)(Minimum `3500/-)

= 30% of Last Pay (LP)

= 30% of LP + DR

= 30% of 20000

= `6000/- + DRFamily pension at theenhanced rate in case ofdeath of serving employee(for a period of 1st ten yearsor remarriage, whicheverearlier )

= 50% of the last pay drawn or twice thenormal family pension or the retirementpension whichever is less

= 50% of LP or NFP x 2

= 50% of 20000 = 10000 or

= 6000 x 2 = 12000

i.e. `10000/- + DR

DCRG

(Maximum `10,00000/-)

Retirement = LP + DA x No. of SMCS

4

= 20000 + 9000 x 66 = `478500/-

4Death = LP + DA x No. of SMCS

2

= 20000 + 9000 x 66 = `957000/-

2Commutation Amount (CA) = Pension x % of Pension Commuted = 10000 x 40% = `4000/-Commutation of Pension = CA x CV x 12 = 4000 x 8.194 x 12 = `393312Leave encashment = LP + DA x No. of LAPs

30

= 48920+22014x300 = `709340

30

Abbreviations used

LP - Last Pay

DA - Dearness Allowance

DR - Dearness Relief

FP - Family Pension

SMCS - Six Months Completed Service

CV - Commutation Value (as applicable see Commutation Table at Page 26)

CA - Commutation Amount

LAP - Leave on Average Pay